1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to commissioning tools for a number of wireless nodes. The invention also pertains to commissioning systems for wireless nodes. The invention further pertains to methods of commissioning wireless nodes.
2. Background Information
A wireless lighting ballast typically includes a conventional lighting ballast and a wireless ballast control module, which connects and permits communication between another wireless node, such as a wireless lighting controller, and the wireless lighting ballast through wireless communications, such as through a wireless local area network (LAN). See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,211,968; 7,167,777; and 6,218,782. In this manner, a number of lights of a lighting fixture can be turned on or off, or the lighting intensity thereof can be adjusted, through wireless communications from the wireless controller to the wireless ballast control module, which, in turn, applies suitable electrical signals to the conventional lighting ballast that powers the lights. The wireless ballast control module can either be integrated with the conventional lighting ballast or else be mounted externally.
One of the key challenges of a commercial or industrial wireless lighting ballast is to link the installed position of the wireless lighting ballast with its own internal identifier.
Known commissioning tools are believed to be too cumbersome for installing wireless lighting ballasts. For example, it can take up to about ten hours to identify about 400 wireless lighting ballasts (e.g., about 1.5 minutes per wireless lighting ballast). Such known commissioning tools are based on gathering a list of device identifiers (device IDs) (using a suitable discovery process) of the wireless lighting ballasts and, then, visually identifying the corresponding lighting fixtures (e.g., by sequentially blinking each of the lighting fixtures) to provide the association between each device ID and the corresponding lighting fixture physical location. For example, a known commissioning tool is in the form of a personal digital assistant (PDA), which interrogates the device ID out of the wireless lighting ballast. However, there is no correlation of the device ID with the corresponding location of the wireless lighting ballast/lighting fixture.
There is room for improvement in commissioning tools for wireless nodes.
There is also room for improvement in commissioning systems for wireless nodes.
There is further room for improvement in methods of commissioning wireless nodes.